Irresistible restaurant-style Chinese salt and pepper fish recipe, crispy golden fried fish bites tossed with garlic, chillies, green onions, and flavourful seasonings. You can easily create this popular Chinese fried fish at home in 30 minutes with simple ingredients.
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What is Chinese Salt and Pepper Fish?
Salt and pepper fish is a perfect combination of battered fried fish, vegetables, flavourful Chinese five spices, salt, and pepper seasoning. It's one of the variations of Cantonese salt and pepper recipes. From Salt and Pepper Chicken, Beef, to Chips, Cantonese salt and pepper dishes are super popular in the US, Australia, and UK Chinese takeout/takeaways.
Seasoning ingredients and cooking steps of this recipe are similar to other seafood appetizer recipes like Salt and Pepper Squid and Prawns. If you’ve enjoyed these dishes, I’m sure you’ll love this fish recipe too!
What Type of Fish To Use
- Choosing the right fish is important when you are frying battered fish. Suggest using lean, mild, white fish fillets. You can use any of your favourite white fish fillets.
- Cod, haddock, hake, pollock, basa, catfish, and halibut are popular choices. These white fish are also great for other battered fish dishes like Fish Tempura, Indian Fish Pakora and English Fish and Chips.
- Do not recommend oily fishes such as salmon, seabass, tuna, etc. Oily fish do not go well with this salted battered fish recipe and their flavour can overpower the overall dish.
- Use fresh fish fillets for the best flavour. If you are using frozen ones, defrost them in the fridge overnight.
Basic Ingredients You'll Need
Following is a quick explanation with photos, detailed measurements are available on the recipe card.
You will need white fish fillets and following simple spices, and vegetables.
- For flour coating: plain flour, cornstarch, and baking powder.
- Salt and pepper powder mix: Chinese five spices, white pepper, and salt.
- Vegetables: a few cloves of garlic, fresh chilli peppers, and green onion/spring onion.
- Dried crushed chilli: add crushed chillies for a kick of heat.
- Oil: use neutral flavour oil high smoke point oil. Vegetable, canola, peanut, sunflower oil are great options.
How to Prepare Fish and Coating
- First, gently press and pat dry both sides of the fish fillets with a paper towel. It’s an important step to achieve the crispy crust outside. If the fish is not dry, it will create steam when you fry it in a hot oil.
- Second, cut the fish into small bite-size cubes or strips. Fish pieces should be uniformly cut for the evenly cooked. Do not cut it too small because the fish pieces can get mushy when you mix with the seasonings and coat in flour mix.
- Next, add the fish pieces in a large mixing bowl add salt, white pepper, garlic powder and cornstarch. Then break one egg inside it. Gently combine all ingredients.
- Make a flour coating mix by combining plain flour ( all-purpose flour ), and cornstarch, and baking in a small bowl. Add the flour mix into the fish bowl, gently stir, and coat each fish piece.
How to Cook Salt and Pepper Fish
- Fill the frying pot with oil. Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the coated fish pieces. Turn occasionally and fry for 3-4 minutes or until the fish pieces are crispy golden brown.
- Then remove from oil and place it over a cooling rack or a kitchen towel to drain excess oil. In a small bowl combine salt, white pepper, and Chinese five spices powder. Mix it well and set it aside.
- Heat the large wok or pan over medium heat. Drizzle oil and saute garlic, and the white part of the spring onions, for a few seconds, then add the chopped chillies. Stir it well until fragrant.
- Then add the fried fish fillets and sprinkle the prepared salt and pepper powder mixture. Finish with chopped spring onions and toss everything well. Transfer to a serving plate and serve immediately!
Cooking Note
- Fry the fish in hot oil. Oil temperature should be over medium-high heat around 340-350°F ( 170°-180° C ). If the oil is not hot enough the coating texture will be greasy and absorb loads of oil.
- Fry the fish pieces in batches and do not overload the oil. Use a strainer to clear the frying oil between frying batches.
- Customize the salt and pepper seasoning: you can add chicken powder, msg, vegetable seasoning powder, or sugar for an extra umami kick.
- Kid-friendly version: omit fresh and dried chillies or reduce the amount if you are making it for kids. Or do not toss it in the pan, simply sprinkle seasoning powder over the fried fish. The kids will love it just like that or with a dipping sauce!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can keep fried fish in the fridge for later use but the coating crust won't stay crispy when you reheat it. It usually lasts in a fridge for a couple of days in an airtight container. To heat up add in the microwave for 1-2 minutes or toss it in the pan until hot.
Yes, place the coated fish pieces in the air fryer basket and spray a generous amount of cooking oil over them. Fry in 200°C ( 400°F )pre-heated air fryer for 10-12 minutes or until crispy golden brown. Turn sides halfway through.
You can serve it as an appetizer or perfect as a main meal. Enjoy it together with other main dishes or simply pair it with rice, egg fried rice, or noodles.
More Delicious Chinese Seafood Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Salt and Pepper Fish Recipe
Ingredients
- 400 gram Fish fillets About 0.9 lbs, Cod, haddock, basa, or choice of white fish fillets.
- ½ tsp Salt Fine salt
- ½ tsp White pepper or black pepper
- 1 tsp Garlic powder or garlic granules
- 1 Egg Whisked
- Oil for frying Sunflower, canola, peanut, or vegetable oil
- 2 Chilli peppers Mild or hot chilli peppers, cut tiny squares
- 2-3 cloves Garlic Minced
- 2-3 Spring onion Cut thin slices
- 1 tsp Crushed chillies Dried chilli flakes
Flour coating mix
- 8 tbsp Plain flour All-purpose flour ( about ½ cup )
- 8 tbsp Cornstarch Or potatostarch ( about ½ cup )
- 1 tsp Baking powder
Seasoning powder mix
- ½ tsp Salt Fine salt
- ½ tsp White pepper or black pepper
- ½ tsp Chinese five spices
Instructions
- Pat dry the fish fillets with a paper towel and cut them into small bite-size cubes or strips. Add the fish pieces in a large mixing bowl and add garlic powder, salt, white pepper, and one egg. Mix it well and set it aside.
- In a small bowl, combine flour mixture ingredients; plain flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Mix it well. Then add the flour mixture over the fish pieces.
- Stir gently and coat each fish piece with the flour and toss the excess flour out before frying.
- Fry the coated fish pieces in the hot oil around 340-350°F ( 170°-180°C ) for 3-4 minutes or until crispy golden brown. Remove from oil and set it aside over the paper towel or cooling rack.
- Heat the wok over medium heat. Add 1tbsp of oil and saute garlic and white part of spring onions. Follow with the chilli peppers and saute for a few seconds until fragrant.
- Now place the fried fish pieces in the wok. Sprinkle seasoning powder mix and spring onions over it. Stir well with the rest of the ingredients.
- Remove from heat and serve immediately.
Shannon W says
Delicious!
Khin says
Many thanks, Shannon.
Suzan says
I want to try it without deep frying. Can I get the crispy coat without deep fry process?
Khin says
Hi Suzan, air-frying is the 2nd best option if you don't want to deep fry the fish. Spray the cooking oil over the fish pieces before air fry them. I hope this helps.